AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Had C.P. ordered an evac of nonessentials? he wondered.
The guards were all at their usual posts in the house, and they did look on duty—but when did they not?
Heading out to the front, he passed through the foyer—where you could have played two or three games of professional volleyball simultaneously—and approached a closed set of double doors. Back when he’d been in better shape, during the early days of his diagnosis, he’d memorized the layout of the mansion, the intel garnered thanks to all those nights when he hadn’t been able to sleep.
So, yeah, he knew where C.P. Phalen’s war room was.
Arriving at the closed door, he knocked, and then looked up to the discreetly mounted fish-eyed camera that was at the ceiling. Giving a little wave, he waited.
If she wasn’t inside, she’d probably be down in the security center that was one floor below—
Things opened, and what do you know, not only was the woman herself the one doing the duty with the knob, she was also still in that fucked-up outfit of navy blue fleece and formal slacks. Still no shoes, either.
“Daniel,” she said with exhaustion. “If you’re looking for Gus, he’s in the lab—”
“No, I’m here for you.”
“I appreciate your concern—”
“You know what I am.” As the woman went silent and narrowed her tired eyes, he nodded. “There’s no way you let me stay in this house without doing a background check, and when you found my created identity, you probably tried to probe further. When that came out with nothing, you drew the right conclusions—and kudos for never asking me what I wouldn’t tell you, by the way.”
She glanced over his shoulder. Then she stepped back without a word and indicated the way in.
He’d never been inside her sanctum sanctorum before, and he was not surprised that the stark,glossy decor of the rest of the house was front and center. Had the woman never heard of knickknacks? A pop of color?
She really needed to watch someScott Living by Drew & Jonathan.
Did she even know what QVC was?
C.P. went across and sat behind her slab of a desk. As she leaned back in her black leather chair, her eyes were steady and he admired her composure given all the shit that was going on: him flaking out on trying that compound of hers, dead body on her front lawn, possible law enforcement issues—although if she could hide from the FDA as effectively as she did, disappearing a corpse was probably not a problem that was new to her.
“I’m not unaware of the nature of your work,” she said remotely. “Or that my lab was likely your target. You were on my acreage with a bomb and detonator. I am not confused as to your intent.”
“And yet you let me stay on.” He went over and sat down in the chair opposite her. “But by then, you knew what was wrong with me—did you hope I was a candidate for your trial right away?”
“No offense, I’m not really in a chitchat mood right now.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you aren’t. Then again, neither am I.” He sat forward. “I know who killed your guard—and no, it wasn’t me. You can checkyour security feeds. Gus and I were in your guest bedroom.”
“I know where you were.”
“I think my old boss is back in action and still wants to take you down.” A return of that sudden tightening across his frontal lobe made him rub over his eyebrows again. “Back in the spring, my commander attempted to leverage my relationship with Lydia after I tried to pull out of my mission—and I had hoped, when things stayed quiet through the spring and summer, that he’d moved on to another target. But your dead guard last night? I think you’re in play once more.”
“So who did you work for?”
“The Federal Bureau of Genetics.”
C.P. shook her head. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“That’s the point.” As his headache seemed to be sticking around, Daniel shifted his position to relieve the pressure on his spine. Not that it helped. “No one has. We were tasked with protecting the integrity of the human genome against unlawful manipulation—by clandestine labs just like yours. I was part of an expert team of mercenary soldiers who, shall we say, were deployed to dismantle such operations.”
“And to think I assumed I only had to watch out for my competitors,” she said dryly. “I’m impressed the government managed to keep you sucha secret. So who is your boss, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“He goes by the name of—” A real spear of agony rocketed through Daniel’s skull, but he refused to be derailed. “Blade. It’s code for fuck only knows what. He had resources that were very deep, and he coordinated our squads of two to three soldiers, doling out the assignments and priorities. He’s efficient, highly rational, very deadly. I can only assume from the way he operated with such autonomy, and stayed so far outside the reach of conventional law enforcement, that his orders come from the highest levels.”
“Well.” C.P. laughed a little. “If I can do it, why can’t the president of the United States? Function under the radar, that is.”
“Listen, I’ve been really grateful for you.” He shrugged and was relieved as his headache began to ease up. “For taking Lydia and me in. Even if your intention was for me to be your first test subject, when I changed my mind and stuck to it, you haven’t kicked us out.”
